Organizations working for social change often confront thorny, unpredictable challenges. If you're active in this space, chances are you're all too familiar with this basic fact of organizational life: things are rarely as straightforward as they seem. Whether it be disruptive events, shifting community needs, or external pressures, organizations looking to promote the public good face the unexpected on an almost daily basis.

Few of these challenges lend themselves to quick fixes. To thrive in an environment of uncertainty and unpredictability, it's essential to periodically press "pause"-to step back, take stock of things, and collectively brainstorm a productive path forward. But that's not always easy. Often, it means going outside one's comfort zone, engaging challenging topics, and asking critical questions.

That's where Knology comes in. Our work helps organizations adapt and innovate in the face of unexpected changes. Through advisory support, we offer data-based insights and perspectives that partners can use to make strategic pivots and adapt action plans to shifting realities. We do all of these things by utilizing the framework of "critical friends." Building on an earlier discussion of this topic, in what follows, we offer a more in-depth consideration of critical friendships, outlining what they are, what they entail, and how they manifest in our work.

Critical Friendships: A Brief Explainer

The term "critical friend" originated in educational circles. Initially, it was seen as a way to promote "professional growth, critical reflection, and collaborative learning" among teachers. With the passage of time, critical friendships have expanded into other settings. Today, the value of critical friends is "increasingly being recognized" in a variety of sectors-including libraries, museums, and other informal learning spaces. Wherever they're found, the goal of the critical friend is always the same: to support an organization's work and catalyze progress toward its goals through a combination of deep listening, honest reflection, evidence-based guidance, and advocacy.

As this suggests, the "critical" part of the term "critical friend" refers not to judgment or negative criticism. While critical friends do critique their partners' work, they always do so from a generative standpoint — with the intent of furthering progress toward shared goals. Instead of being impartial bystanders, critical friends are invested outsiders. They're people who share an organization's concerns and "advocate for the success of the work." The critical friend's supportive guidance comes from a place of care and understanding, reflecting a deep knowledge of organizational contexts and operational environments. As Simon Milligan writes in a recent essay:

To be a critical friend is not to be a cheerleader, nor a relentless critic. It requires occupying the uncomfortable middle ground — part ally, part mirror, part provocateur. It means being curious, demonstrating a genuine interest in people and issues, and adopting a spirit of appreciative enquiry: "What are we seeing? From whose perspective? What are we wrestling with? What do we need to better understand? What if…?"

It is in occupying this "uncomfortable middle ground" that critical friends prove their worth. "Working on complex societal challenges is demanding," Milligan writes, "yet these are precisely the conditions in which critical friends can add value." Critical friends are especially valuable when an organization is looking to "bridge the familiar to refocus toward a new direction."

Our Role as Critical Friends

As critical friends, we're deeply concerned about the outcomes and effectiveness of our partners' projects. We believe that our support of their work makes our evaluation, research, and capacity building better. We're passionate advocates of our partners' growth and success, and strive to offer constructive guidance and insights that align with their missions, visions, and objectives. We do this through collaborative, reciprocal relationships based on mutual trust and respect. In practice, this means that instead of supplying answers, we help partners figure out their own solutions. We do that by:

• Asking provocative, challenging questions that prompt partners to rethink their beliefs and practices
• Creating a space for honest, open reflection (including the gathering of feedback from those who feel neglected or overlooked)
• Looking at existing data through another lens
• Providing reassurance, inspiration, and motivational support
• Helping shape (but not determine!) project goals and intended outcomes
• Translating meanings across different contexts (e.g., by cross-walking knowledge from one area to another)
• Giving guidance on ways to tackle organizational stressors

Through actions like these, we're able to bring new knowledge, experiences, and perspectives to partners. As critical friends, we help organizations connect their work to broader trends or movements, existing theories and emerging bodies of evidence, and different audiences and contexts. In addition to helping organizations think about the broader systems they're operating in, we also help them find a deeper level of meaning in what they're doing.

Let's Put it To Work

Throughout Knology's history, we've found that our ability to serve as critical friends is advantageous to partners. For evidence of the benefits of this role, see the following examples:

• "Reducing Barriers in Informal STEMM Education" — Through evaluation of a program called "Science Journeys," we're helping our partners at Children's National Hospital overcome the many obstacles hospital-based education efforts typically confront, while also ensuring that the program aligns with the needs, interests, and concerns of its target audience.
• "Making Museums Financially Accessible" — When commissioned to evaluate an initiative called "Museums for All," we used data gathered through case studies and a questionnaire to build a theory of change-one designed to help participating institutions maximize the initiative's benefits by thinking more strategically about their implementation actions.
• "What Library Patrons Have to Say About Accessibility" — In our role as evaluator of the American Library Association's "Libraries Transforming Communities" project, we've helped small and rural libraries better understand the impact of their accessibility efforts by conducting interviews with library patrons.
• "Responding to Shifting Needs in Environmental Education" — As part of our evaluation of a wildlife curriculum developed by the New England Aquarium, we interviewed teachers to learn about how informal science organizations could better align their programming with current school priorities and directions.

Interested in how we could be a critical friend to your work? Take a look at the above examples, and then get in touch with CEO Joanna Laursen Brucker. Through collaboration, we can offer supportive, evidence-backed guidance that helps you maximize your impact and advance your mission.

Photo courtesy of rod m @ Unplash